More than 100 people were on hand for a
presentation on Chief Wabasis this week, but if they were hoping for clues on
how to find the legendary gold he buried, they were disappointed.

The lecture by Norm VanSoest, chairman of the
Plainfield Charter Township Historical Preservation Committee, explored stories
about the Indian sub chief who was murdered on his way from Grand Rapids back
to his family home at Wabasis Lake, in light of his relationship to Michael
Smith, an early Plainfield Township settler.

The lecture kicks of a series of events
celebrating Plainfield Township's 175 years as a community.

When VanSoest, who grew up near Belding, returned
to the area, the late Chuck Weldon, a childhood friend and former township
trustee, got him involved with the history group. While many articles were
written about the legendary Chief Wabasis, local residents are still striving to
find the truth.

VanSoest began what he calls "an interesting
journey" to dispel some of the myths after being contacted by a woman from Ohio
researching her family tree. Helping her find relatives that lived in
Plainfield got him involved in the famous story.

"Her great, great, great grandfather was a
close friend of Chief Wabasis," said VanSoest. "Between her research and mine,
dates and maps get us a little closer to the who, what, why, and when of the
story."

They surveyed news articles, census and plat
records, and early maps of the area, including one hand-drawn of the Indian trails
through Kent County.

Mystery surrounds the story, and even
reported dates of the chief's demise range from 1848 to 1860. VanSoest based
his opinion on Smith's death as well as the most likely date of the Green Corn
Festival held in Plainfield Village; he pinpoints Wabasis' death in August of
1862.

Some local legends say Wabasis buried nearly
$50,000 in a cooking pot borrowed from his friend Michael Smith. "At that time,
records show that the U.S. government was running low on money and paying the
Indians in silver," said VanSoest. "Can you even imagine what $50,000 of silver
would weigh? Could he have carried it around?"

VanSoest concluded that Wabasis was returning
from one of his annual trips to Grand Rapids for land payments when he died.
"As to the whereabouts of the money he had the day he was murdered, it is
anyone's guess, somewhere between Plainfield and Oakfield townships," he said.

VanSoest shared information from the Treaty
of 1836 and showed maps of trails and stagecoach lines, and details such as the
location of Prairie Village and the differences between payments made to
full-blooded Native Americans and to "half breeds." He also talked about the
limestone cave where many believe the
money was buried.

Some printed news articles were so inaccurate
that even the location of Wabasis Lake was wrong, he said. He shared records
showing a Smith land purchase in 1839 in Algoma Township and another that said
first settlers in Algoma came in 1843. One article makes reference to "that was
one treaty-making Indian" but in reality Chief Wabasis never signed any
treaties despite all the stories, said VanSoest. "The only signature of his
ever found is on the record of his adoptive father."

Census years were helpful in the research,
but because people were identified only with an age range instead of an actual
age, some numbers are hard to determine exactly.

Details of Wabasis' death and even the place
of his burial likely will always be in question. "They say he was killed by
Indians and buried in the bluffs in retaliation for signing a treaty to cede
land to the U.S., which he didn't do. Many still believe that he was reburied
on the east side of what is now Northland Drive on the banks of the Grand
River."

VanSoest said that Wabasis was widely
considered a drunk and a thief, but in reality was "very frugal, sober,
well-educated, and well-liked by the early settlers."

A local woman, Jenny Kutz, composed a lengthy
poem about the man known as the White Swan. It was later reported by the Grand Rapids Herald, that "although
there was not a smidge of evidence found, it (the poem) was widely read but
utterly untrue." The humiliated family moved out of state.

"If there is a buried kettle, it was filled
with a portion of Wabasis' meager savings," concluded VanSoest. "One thing we
are sure of it was never found."

Audience members asked questions about
VanSoest's research and presentation and added stories and facts from their
findings. VanSoest agreed that the full story will likely never be completely
known. "All of the research I dug out here, you can probably equal it with
something else," he said.

Next up in the 175th anniversary celebration
series is a Community Reads book discussion featuring Digging to America by Anne Tyler. The event will be from 6:15 to 7:30
p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, at the Comstock Park branch and Tuesday, Feb. 4, at the
Plainfield Township branch of the Kent District Library.